This week's Daily Record column is entitled "Judging the judges, gender and the law."

A pdf of the article can be found hereand my past Daily Record articles can be accessed here.

******

Over the last week, Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings brought issues of gender within the legal profession to the forefront of discussion once again, and I’ve been giving the issues a great deal of thought.

Prior to writing this column, I attempted to locate a book I received as a gift in 1992, when I graduated from the University of Rochester. The book was about women lawyers and the legal profession and was the perfect gift for me at the time, since I was attending Albany Law School the following fall.

I couldn’t wait to read it. After reading the first few chapters, which focused on the depressing statistics regarding the lack of women lawyers in leadership positions in the legal field, I tossed the book aside, deeming it irrelevant.

Published in the late 1980s, the book was based on studies from the mid-1980s, and I decided it described an outdated state of affairs, old news, a thing of the past. I figured that, by the time I graduated from law school, things would be different. In retrospect, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

In the early stages of my legal career, I re-visited the book on occasion, and kept it on a shelf with my other law-related books. It was a depressing reminder of the naivete of my youth.

The statistics regarding women lawyers in leadership positions have changed very little since the late 1980s. Recent studies confirm the profession’s sad state of affairs.

I don’t even bother to read the results of such studies anymore. They’re depressingly repetitious and always end with the same predictable conclusion: For some reason, although women have reprsented nearly 50 percent of law school graduates since the 1990s, we are not advancing upward through the ranks of our profession.

The Sotomayor hearings are yet another reminder of the phenomenon. Not only because, if Sotomayor is confirmed she and Justice Ginsburg will be the only women on the court, but also because of the demeaning tenor of the confirmation proceedings.

Predictably, some questions focused on Judge Sotomayor’s “temperament,” a topic all too often raised when discussing the capabilities of women judges.

Through the years I’ve heard male colleagues describe women judges before whom they’ve appeared in various ways, rarely complimentary.

At best, women judges are described as “ok,” “not my favorite” or “decent.” At worst, they “don’t get it,” “are ornery,” “indecisive,” “not too bright,” “flaky,” “short-tempered,” “inefficient” or “rude”.

I’m always taken aback when I hear such descriptions, and find it particularly frustrating when those same colleagues make excuses for the male judges known to be extremely cranky, explaining “Oh, he can be tough, but he and I —we get along.”

Keep in mind, such comments tend to come from male colleagues whom I know well and respect. Otherwise, they are open minded, intelligent and level headed—people whom I like and admire greatly. And yet, they seem to be unaware of the incongruity of their judicial assessments.

Needless to say, the questions concerning temperament raised at Judge Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings dredged all of these gender disparity issues to the surface of my mind.

As I always do when re-visiting these themes, I reached for that book I received in 1992, only to find it wasn’t on the shelf anymore. I’d thrown it away in frustration the last time I looked at it a few years ago.

The very first Monday guest blog post is from the blog, Full Court Pass, which focuses on New York law and the United States Supreme Court. The blog is authored by Norman Olch, whose practice is centered on state and federal appeals in civil and criminal cases.

*****Ifan
action is dismissed by the New York State courts on the grounds the
action is barred by the statute of limitations, can the identical claim
then be brought in federal court where the statute of limitations is longer?

In Cloverleaf Realty of New York, Inc. v. Town of Wawayanda the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit today answers that question "Yes." The decision can be found here.

Following
a public hearing, the town of Wawayanda, New York, imposed a special
tax assessment on property owners. Property owner Cloverleaf brought a
declaratory judgment action in state court arguing, inter alia, that
the assessment violated procedural due process because the town had
posted notice of the public hearing in a newspaper advertisement
instead of providing actual notice by mail to property owners. The
state court dismissed the action on the grounds it was commenced after
the four-month statute of limitations under CPLR § 217.

Cloverleaf
then brought an action in federal court under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 again
alleging that the failure to give notice by mail violated due process
of law. The District Court dismissed the action on the grounds the
prior dismissal in the state court barred the action in federal court.

The Second Circuit reversed the dismissal and reinstated the claim. The statute
of limitations for a § 1983 action in the New York federal courts is
three years. The traditional rule is that a dismissal on
statute-of-limitations grounds is not a determination on the merits--it
bars the remedy but does not extinguish the right. Therefore, an action
dismissed for untimeliness in one jurisdiction, can be brought in
another jurisdiction with a longer statute of limitations....

I've decided to change the format of the Monday posts. My primary goal in rounding up posts has always been to call attention to other New York law blogs, while providing my readers with useful information.

To that end, I've decided that instead of rounding up recent posts from New York law bloggers, I will be featuring a post from another New York law blog each Monday.

If you would like me to consider featuring a recently published post from your blog, please drop me an email at nblack at nicoleblackesq dot com, and include a link to the post and a very brief description of your practice and blog for me to include with the post.

Since my blog is targeted toward New York attorneys, the post should focus on substantive New York legal issues.

I'll include 75% of the content of the post with a link back to the original post so that my readers can read the remainder of it and a link to your blog. I'll also include a link to the your website. That way, you'll gain additional traffic, exposure and will be able to take advantage of my blog's established SEO (search engine optimization).

This week's Daily Record column is entitled "Blackberry Apps for Lawyers."

A pdf of the article can be found hereand my past Daily Record articles can be accessed here.

******

After reading last week’s article about iPhone apps for lawyers, a regular reader e-mailed me to request a similar article for Blackberry owners.

As the familiar expression goes: “Ask and ye shall receive.”

After some research, I located a number of Blackberry applications that would be useful for attorneys; but, it wasn’t easy.

I was happy to discover how easy it was to locate the “Blackberry App World,” the official Blackberry app store. My happiness quickly turned to consternation, however, when I realized I could only peruse the app store if I downloaded the app store program — using only Internet Explorer or a Blackberry. Unfortunately, I’m a Mac gal and had access to neither.

Nevertheless, I managed to unearth an assortment of Blackberry applications that would benefit just about any law practice.

First, there a number of apps consisting of databases of federal and state laws, which allow lawyers to carry relevant laws and rules in their pockets in an easily accessible format.

From the developer “The Law Pod,” lawyers can purchase the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, Federal Rules of Evidence and the U.S. Constitution.

Also, lawpda.com provides state statutes for California, Texas and Florida.

There is a legal dictionary —Beiks Bouvier’s Law Dictionary, for $19.95.

And there are a number of apps that, while not targeted specifically toward lawyers, could prove very useful.

First, for managing and creating documents, there’s the eOffice 4.6 Mobile Office Suite. It costs $29.95, and allows you to work with Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. Files you’ve created can be shared using the Bluetooth File Sharing app, which costs only $9.99.

Another useful product from that same company is BizTrackIt, at $39.99, which allows you to track billable/unbillable time by project and e-mail time record reports in CSV file format or synchronize them to your PC using Desktop Manager.

With Viigo RSS Reader, a free app, you can keep up with all the news as it comes in. Skype, the well-known VOIP software that provides unlimited long distance phone calls, now is available for Blackberrys as well, and it’s free.

Winscribe dictation software also is available, and provides online and offline functionality with secure data and voice transmission.

Last, but not least —a number of assorted apps of interest. The Wikipock Basic Edition, at $9.99, allows you to have access to all of Wikipedia, even if you have no internet connection.

Another popular online service, Evernote, is now available for Blackberrys. The free application allows you to capture photos, notes and voice memos, which then can be synced with your desktop Evernote client.

Finally, a free and very popular online application, Pandora, is available to Blackberry owners. Pandora is your very own personalized radio that streams music directly to your Blackberry. Radio stations can be created and tweaked to suit your preferences by indicating which songs you like best, and least.

So, if you’re a diehard Blackberry fan, or simply own a Blackberry because you have no other choice, there are apps out there that can improve your Blackberry experience, increase your efficiency and improve your law practice.

Today, I bring you a guest post from my good friend, Larry Port, Founding Partner
and Chief Software Architect for Rocket Matter, LLC (www.rocketmatter.com), a web-based law practice management system. You can follow him on Twitter here:
(www.twitter.com/rocketmatter).

*****

GTD For Legal: The Weekly Review

As part of our weeklong legal
efficiency-fest, we’re discussing the Getting Things Done productivity
system in the context of a law firm. Each day this week, we’ll
write guest posts at prominent legal blogs exploring the system in more
detail.

A perfect way to wrap our Legal
Getting Things Done Week is a discussion of the Weekly Review, one of
the most important ideas in the GTD system. In fact, I would argue
that if you were going to take away one thing from GTD, implementing
the Weekly Review will keep you in touch with your priorities and prevent
your organizational system from coming unhinged.

What is the Weekly Review?

It’s a simple concept, but harder
than it sounds. You need to find an hour or two each week.
Block off time on your calendar where the phone can’t ring and the
door can’t open. For a busy attorney this can be very difficult,
since deadlines, opposing counsel, and judges can pop in at any time.
We have some ideas about scheduling later on in this post.

In these review sessions, you
must clear your head and process everything that happened that week.
Any notes jotted on legal pads, calendar appointments, or loose ideas
need to be gathered up and captured. It’s also a good time for
a mini Mind-Sweep (click
here to read our post on Mind-Sweeps).

Once you capture all of your loose
ends, take a look at upcoming calendar events and determine any actions
they need. Then, organize your inbox into lists and review everything.
According to the GTD book, you’re done with your Weekly Review if
you can say “I absolutely know right now everything I’m not doing
but could be doing if I decided to” (Getting Things Done, Chapter
8).

Review your projects and take
note of their status. Examine your Next Action and Waiting For
lists to check off anything completed and note supporting actions that
might need to occur. Look at your “Someday/Maybe” lists and
see if you’d like to promote a project or remove ones that no longer
hold your interest. If you missed our discussion on some of these
list categories, click
here for an explanation.

Why is the Weekly Review of
such paramount importance?

Busy lifestyles aren’t the problem.
It’s when an individual has a constant whirlwind of activity and doesn’t
take time to organize action based on priority. Attorneys, who
live under the threat of looming deadlines, get called away to handle
emergencies, and have family commitments, can quickly become overwhelmed
by responsibilities. The result is that individuals constantly find
themselves in “reaction” mode, leaving the individual unfocused,
and when the dust clears, there’s not a system in place to handle
activities in an organized way.

The Weekly Review allows you to
operate as your own CEO. Your Next Actions will descend from your
priorities, and you can see each project or matter from a clear perspective.
You will also permit yourself to play catch-up with all of the incoming
bits of information you collect throughout the week (that you can’t
possibly deal with as they stream in).

I’m so busy. How and
when could I possibly schedule a Weekly Review?

Since the Weekly Review is very
important to your organizational life, you’re going to want to make
a positive habit out of it. Even if your life seems too crazy
to accommodate a couple of hours a week, it helps to recognize “the
value of sacrificing the seemingly urgent for the truly important”
(Getting Things Done, Chapter 8).

For attorneys, who often deal
with mission-critical situations, you may need to find islands of time
beyond normal work hours. If you can swing Friday afternoon from
4-6PM or early Saturday morning, the extra time investment will pay
dividends in the rest of your weekly operations. At those periods
at the end of the week, fresh from the week’s battle, you allow yourself
to clear your mind, set up your next week, and focus on the weekend.

This week's Daily Record column is entitled "Practicing law: There's an iPhone app for that."

A pdf of the article can be found here and my past Daily Record articles can be accessed here.

*****

Practicing law: There's an iPhone app for that

In June, the latest iPhone, the 3GS, was released. The new features, including video capability, voice control, and increased speed make the iPhone all the more competitive with other smart phones.

Third party applications have been available at Apple’s App Store for over a year now. There are currently over 55,000 apps, a number of which are specifically tailored toward lawyers.

Many of these apps consist of databases of federal and state laws, thus allowing lawyers to carry relevant laws and rules in their pockets in an easily accessible format.

From the developer “The Law Pod,” lawyers can pur- chase the following apps for just 99 cents: The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, Federal Rules of Evidence and the U.S. Constitution.

There are a number of legal database apps available to New York attorneys as well. For just $5 to $7 each, lawyers can purchase New York’s Penal Code, the CPLR, the Vehicle & Traffic Law, the Estates, Powers & Trusts Law and the Domestic Relations Law.

Similar apps are also available for the following states: California, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Michigan, Florida, Arizona and Washington.

The entire U.S. Tax Code can be purchased for $14.99. The following useful apps are similarly available for federal criminal defense attorneys: The Federal Sentencing Guide and the FBI Handbook.

Other federal law apps of interest are the U.S. Code and fed- eral patent, securities and copyright statutes, both of which can be purchased for $4 or less.

There are a number of legal dictionaries available as well, including Black’s Law Dictionary for $49.99, the Essential Law Dictionary for $9.99 or Nolo’s Plain English Law Dictionary, which is free.

The Legal News Reader app, which costs 99 cents, conve- niently aggregates all recent legal news in one place, for those not interested in taking the time to do so themselves.

Finally, there are a number of iPhone apps that are not targeted specifically toward lawyers that I have found to be indispensable.

First, there is the free Conference Call app, which allows you to schedule outbound conference calls using your iPhone.

DocScanner, available for $9.99, is another great app for lawyers. With this app you can scan a document to your iPhone by taking a photo of it. It is then converted to a .pdf file that can either be e-mailed or saved to your phone.

Since lawyers are constantly calculating filing and due dates, DateCalcPro and DaysFrom are two very useful apps. DateCalcPro costs $1.99 and allows you to calculate the time between two dates. DaysFrom costs 99 cents and enables you to calculate a date for a number of days in the future or past. 9- Toolbox, discussed below, also includes two date calculators and is free.

If you travel frequently, Kayak, FlightTrack, and AroundMe are must haves. Kayak, a free app, simultaneously searches multiple travel sites for the cheapest hotel rates and airfare. FlightTrack, which costs $4.99, provides real-time status for flights.

Finally, AroundMe, a free app, provides you with stores, restaurants and other businesses in your immediate area.

Last, but not least —a number of assorted apps of interest. First, AT&T GPS Navigator. The app is free, but the service costs $9.99 per month. This is an amazingly accurate GPS system that provides you with spoken turn-by-turn directions and, like most GPS devices, re-routes if you miss a turn.

Amazon Kindle is a great, free app for long, unexpected delays in court. You can download books, some for free, directly to your iPhone and peruse them in an easy-to-read format at your leisure.

Finally, Bump is a free app that enables iPhone users who have downloaded the app to exchange contact information by simply opening the app and “bumping” hands. Voilà, contact information is exchanged instantaneously.

Bottom line — if you don’t already own an iPhone — now is the time to buy one. The apps alone will make the purchase well worth your while. You’ll increase efficiency, thus saving time and money.

disclaimer

This site is intended purely as a resource guide for educational and informational purposes and is not intended to provide specific legal advice. This site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a professional attorney in your state. The use and receipt of the information offered on this site is not intended to create, nor does it create, an attorney-client relationship.

Please feel free to contact me via e-mail or otherwise. However, please be advised that an attorney-client relationship is not created through the act of sending electronic mail to me.

The comments on this blog are solely the opinions of the individuals leaving them. In no way does Legal Antics or Nicole L. Black endorse, condone, agree with, sponsor, etc. these comments.

Further, any information provided on this blog or in the comments should be taken at your own risk.